Turkey orders arrests of 968 suspects before coup anniversary

Turkish prosecutors ordered the arrest of 968 suspects linked to an organisation Ankara blames for the failed 2016 coup attempt, the justice minister said Monday. The order came ahead of the July 15 anniversary of the coup attempt.

On July 15, 2016, a rogue military faction tried to overthrow the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The fighting left about 250 people dead and 2,000 wounded. Ankara blamed US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, a former ally of Erdogan who later became an opponent and has since died. Turkish authorities labelled his organisation the Fetullah Terrorist Organisation, or FETO, and vowed to remove it from Turkish society.

After the coup attempt, Ankara imposed a two-year state of emergency and carried out a large purge across the army, police, media, judiciary, education system and diplomatic service. The source says hundreds of thousands of people were detained and tens of thousands were dismissed, leaving a lasting mark on Turkish society.

Justice Minister Akin Gurlek and Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci described Monday's nationwide operation as part of a campaign to remove FETO-linked elements. Writing on X, they said the nation's will and the survival of the state remained under threat from what they called the FETO/PDY network, using an acronym for what Ankara describes as a parallel state structure.

Analysts cited by AFP say the coup became a turning point in modern Turkish history and helped Erdogan strengthen his hold on power. Last week, Ciftci sent a letter to the governors of Turkey's 81 provinces describing the events of July 15, 2016, as a foundational and indisputable turning point.